Column by Sybil Pratt

Bake It, Don’t Fake It! is a great and wonderfully descriptive title for this straightforward seminar on baking from scratch. Heather Bertinetti, a super-talented pastry pro who has worked in some of the best restaurants in New York City, has made it her mission to dispel the fear of baking that lurks in so many home kitchens and keeps otherwise competent cooks from making pies, pastries, party cakes and beyond.

Cooking Column by Sybil Pratt

Pies: Sweet and Savory—that’s as straightforward as a title can be, and author Caroline Bretherton, pie practitioner par excellence, offers equally straightforward instructions for a fabulous, international array of more than 230 pies and tarts. An illustrated recipe planner organizes the recipes by pie type—top-crust, double-crust, cobblers and crumbles (yes, there are super...

Cooking Column by Sybil Pratt

For the gourmets and novices, everyday toilers and weekend super-chefs on your holiday hit list, cookbooks are the answer to the perennially perplexing present problem.If you or your giftee bake or have baking aspirations, Bouchon Bakery is an absolute must. Written by the extraordinary Thomas Keller, perhaps America’s most important chef, and Sebastien Rouxel, executive pastry chef for...

Cooking Column by Sybil Pratt

If you want to put an English spin on your cooking, all you need to do is pick up Todd English’s elegant new cookbook, Cooking in Everyday English. Flavorful vinaigrettes, quickly made compound butters, sensational spice blends and a few choice condiments are English’s basic building blocks. Then he takes you through the gourmet gamut from cocktails and appetizers to desserts, with...

Feature by Sybil Pratt

'Tis the season, yet again! Start the tarts, roll out the dough, cut the cookies, ice the cakes, prep the puddings, whip the meringue and get all the inspiration and advice you need from these sweet new cookbooks.THE CRAFT OF BAKINGInternational Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) award winner Lisa Yockelson, a joyful and serious baker, shares her personal baking storybook in ...

Cooking Column by Sybil Pratt

Chopped or tossed, Caesar or Cobb, salads come in many forms. With her 12th book, Salad as a Meal, Patricia Wells celebrates salads with her cultivated, creative and completely irresistible interpretations. According to Wells, a salad doesn’t have to have lettuce or greens; it can be a “light and refreshing salad-related entity.” And when you look through the 150-plus recipes...

Feature by Sybil Pratt

There's a little bit of magic in homemade cookies. Plain or fancy, soft or crispy, they somehow carry the ineffable essence of home and hearth, love and kindness, tradition and family—and they say Christmas loud and clear. This holiday season we're blessed with three fabulous new cookie cookbooks.SWAP AND SMILE In Very Merry Cookie Party, Barbara Grunes and Virginia Van...

Cooking Column by Sybil Pratt

That elusive “quoi” in “je ne sais quoi” that seems to give French women their unique edge became a bit more comprehensible when Mireille Guiliano gave us the inside scoop in French Women Don’t Get Fat. She made it clear that the great Gallic gift of eating well and sensuously while keeping fit and trim doesn’t come in the form of a strict diet. Rather,...

Cooking Column by Sybil Pratt

If your beef stew needs a bit more salt or your vinaigrette a bit more garlic, you can fix it in a flash, but if your cake needs a bit more baking powder and looks like a thick, gooey pancake, you’ve had it. Baking is a precise art; the more you know about techniques, ingredients and their interactions, the better a baker you’ll be. James Peterson, expert cook and super-expert...